The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions that senior high school (SHS) chemistry students, and teachers have about organic chemistry as well as to compare organic chemistry topics that are difficult for students and teachers. Simple random sampling (lottery) and purposive sampling methods were used to select a sample of 100 SHS…

This study aims to develop primary-school students' understanding of the scientific practices in the Benzene Ring Heuristic (BRH) and to determine how BRH applications would affect student perceptions about science, scientific knowledge, and scientists. An interpretative qualitative research design was used in the study. The study group consisted…

Electrophilic aromatic substitution (EAS) represents an important class of reactions taught in the undergraduate organic chemistry curriculum. The EAS reaction of benzene and its substituted derivatives is generally described as proceeding through a carbocation (arenium cation) intermediate, and the regiochemistry of the product is heavily…

A new method to determine a ternary phase diagram of benzene-acetic acid-water system is provided to upper-division undergraduate students. The partially miscible liquid phase region can be accurately constructed using isothermal titration microcalorimetry (ITC). Compared with the traditional visual method, ITC can provide precise data and more…

The synthesis of substituted 1,4-benzoquinones, a biologically important class of compounds, was developed using [mu]-oxodi(phenyliodanyl) diacetate, a (diacetoxyiodo)benzene-based oxidizing reagent, in order to introduce second-year undergraduate organic laboratory students in their second semester or advanced organic students to increasingly…

At an advanced stage of learning quantum chemistry, undergraduate students usually encounter simple Hückel-molecular-orbital (HMO) theory, whose primitive approach gives very useful insight into the electronic structure of p-conjugated molecules. However, on one hand, computational HMO software, when programmed without using molecular symmetry,…

The study presented here is an action research that was conducted in a science and technology teaching course in a pre-service elementary teaching program at a private university in Turkey aiming at improving the pre-service elementary teachers' understanding of science and teaching science. In order to achieve this aim, an innovative approach,…

In this work, two exercises are described that are designed to teach students about the evolution and behavior of the electronic bands of graphene and bilayer graphene. These exercises involve performing extended Hückel molecular orbital theory calculations on polyacenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In the first exercise, students…

Our past experiences in science teacher education inferred that using scientific practices in science teaching courses and supporting pre-service teachers' efforts to integrate these into their teaching allow them to gain confidence in analysing and interpreting empirical data. However, those efforts sometimes do not provide sufficient help for…

With the advancements in broad-spectrum sunscreens and the recent bans on benzene-based sunscreens due to their environmental toxicity, there has been a push toward broad-spectrum sunscreens containing in organic active ingredients. In this study, a procedure was developed to analyze the particle size and size distribution of inorganic active…

In this experiment, students perform an air-free synthesis of three dichlorophosphinenickel(II) compounds, NiCl[subscript 2](PPh[subscript 3])[subscript 2], NiCl[subscript 2](PCy[subscript 3])[subscript 2], and NiCl[subscript 2](DPPE), using NiCl[subscript 2]·6H[subscript 2]O and the appropriate phosphine as the precursors. These colorful nickel…

Metallo-supramolecular polyelectrolytes (MEPE) based on iron(II)-acetate and 1,4-bis(2,2':6',2?-terpyridin-4'-yl)benzene are assembled by layer-by-layer deposition on transparent electrode surfaces. When a potential is applied, the color of the film can be switched from blue to transparent. Due to the strong absorption and the fast switching…

NMR spectroscopy has great potential as an instrumental method for environmental chemistry research and monitoring but may be underused in teaching laboratories because of its complexity and the level of expertise required in operating the instrument and interpreting data. This laboratory experiment introduces environmental NMR spectroscopy to…

This advanced undergraduate laboratory experiment involves the synthesis and characterization of a metal-organic framework with microporous channels that are held intact via hydrogen bonding of the coordinated water molecules. The hydrothermal synthesis of Co[subscript 3](BTC)[subscript 2]·12H[subscript 2]O (BTC = 1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylic acid)…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the life of Harar City street children. In view of that, the following research questions were forwarded; what are the major causes that make children leave their homes for the streets? Do street children use psychoactive substances? What type of psychoactive substance do street children use? Based on…